The first season of HBO's upcoming The Last of Us TV show will consist of 10 episodes, writer and producer Craig Mazin has confirmed.
As flagged by Culture Crave on Twitter, Mazin broke the news during a recent appearance on the Scriptnotes podcast. The Chernobyl creator also revealed that there are only two directors left to be announced for The Last of Us series. As of now, we know Ali Abbasi (Shelley, Border), Kantemir Balagov (Closeness, Beanpole), and Jasmila Zbanic (Quo Vadis, Aida?) will be directing episodes.
Given that The Last of Us TV series will be told through hour-long episodes, this means the first season will be about 10 hours in length. Neither Mazin nor series co-creator Neil Druckmann have revealed how much of The Last of Us' story will be told in the first season, but it's a fair enough assumption that the events of the first game will play out in season 1, with a potential second season telling the story of The Last of Us 2. Alternatively, it's possible the writers will stretch out the story into several seasons.
In case you haven't heard, The Last of Us cast includes Game of Thrones alumni Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey as series leads Joel and Ellie. Gabriel Luna, who's had roles in Terminator: Dark Fate, True Detective, and Marvel's Agents of SHIELD, is set to portray Joel's brother Tommy.
Interestingly, Merle Dandridge is playing The Fireflies leader Marlene, a character she also voiced in the video game. So far, Dandridge is the only actor from The Last of Us game reprising her role for the HBO series.
Finally, Nico Parker was recently cast as Joel's daughter Sarah, who has a short-lived but supremely impactful role in the 2013 game. Parker's breakout role was as Milly Farrier in Tim Burton's 2019 reimagining of Dumbo, but you might also recognize her as Ellie (not that Ellie) in the 2020 HBO series The Third Day.
Joining Mazin and Druckmann in bringing The Last of Us to the small screen is composer Gustavo Santaolalla, who directed both of the games. All in all, The Last of Us TV show is sounding increasingly promising with every development, and we can't wait for its debut at an unspecified date.
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